Severed Bonds
by Shiba Lover
Summary: When Tsunade sends Naruto and Sakura to retrieve Sasuke from Orochimaru's clutches, will he go willingly? When things take a turn for the worst, will Naruto accept Orochimaru's challenge? Bad Summary, good Story. Please Review! UPDATED DAILY.
1. Prologue

I was randomly listening to Slipknot and decided I should write a Naruto story. So here goes.

Key:

"Quotations: speaking"

_Italicized: thinking_

_"Italicized with quotations: Kyuubi speaking/thinking"_

**Prologue**

The sun shone brightly and the birds sang their songs to the light of morning, while the dew lay shining peacefully on the soft, lush grass. In the grass lay a boy, 15 years of age. He rose, opened his deep blue eyes that sparkled with determination, and let out a long yawn. His orange and black clothes made him stand out against the trees as he ran toward Konoha.

_How could I fall asleep in the forest?_ He asked himself silently.

As he entered the village, he glanced at his surroundings - the familiar building where his favorite meals were cooked, the Hokage's faces carved into the mountain, the hospital - but none were what he was heading for.

"All right, granny Tsunade," Naruto mumbled to himself as he opened the door to her office. He looked up to see Sakura standing near Tsunade's desk and the Hokage herself filing paperwork. A bad feeling stirred inside Naruto's gut as he studied the Hokage's expression carefully. What kind of mission could she have called him and Sakura in for with such urgency? She was always serious, but why did she look more than usual?

He walked up next to Sakura.

"Your mission," Tsunade began, "is to retrieve Sasuke."

Both were shocked; after a three-week period after killing Sasori, she wanted Naruto and Sakura - alone - to retrieve Sasuke?

"You want us to retrieve him," Sakura yelled in shock, "by ourselves?"

"You won't be by yourselves," Tsunade continued. She handed them a scroll. "You're to have unexpected help. That is, if you can convince him."

Sakura unraveled the scroll while Naruto peaked over her shoulder. It was a letter, mostly, telling him, whoever "he" was, that his help would be rewarded greatly, etc., from the Hokage. Both began to wonder who would have to be convinced: all the rewards sounded extraordinary, who wouldn't refuse?

That is, until at the end of the scroll, the name was rolled out.

Sakura dropped the scroll in horror.

_Itachi Uchiha._

_To be continued..._


	2. Chapter I: Beginning of a Long Journey

I got two reviews, yay! (That I shall keep anonymous unless the authors of those reviews don't care.) But, in worse news, today is the start of the annual Canadian Seal hunt.

Oh well. Once again:

Key:

"Quotations: Speaking"

_Italicized: Thinking/emphasized word_

_"Italicized with quotations: Kyuubi speaking/thinking"_

**Chapter I: The Beginning of a Long Journey**

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Naruto blurted out. "I can't believe-"

"You will find him and convince him," Tsunade said angrily, "unless you want no help at all!"

Sakura thought it over carefully. After all, there would be Kabuto, Orochimaru himself...

_And snakes,_ she added silently with a shiver of disgust. _Lots of them._

"We will, Tsunade-sama," Sakura said loyally.

"B-But Sakura-chan!" Naruto stammered.

"Come on Naruto!" she said with her teeth gritted, grabbing his ear and dragging him out the door.

_Those two,_ Tsunade thought to herself. _The whole reason I sent them together was because they would become stronger... by fighting for each other._

"How are we supposed to even convince Itachi to go with us?" Sakura asked Naruto, realizing any plan of his would most likely involve ramen or fail humiliatingly.

Naruto, seeming to read her thoughts, almost fell off the branch of a tree he was aiming to land on in surprise that she actually _asked_ him about his thoughts for a plan. He was so surprised that he forgot. "Uh..."

Sakura kept up her pace, jumping from tree to tree toward the Akatsuki hideout, trying to be aware of any traps that could be waiting for them, but she couldn't keep her focus. She wasn't being distracted the surrounding area, but, however, something - or some_one_ - in that area. She couldn't concentrate because of Naruto; she kept glancing over at him, hoping he wouldn't notice. Of course not, he's not that aware of things.

_He's grown a lot,_ Sakura said in her mind.

Around midday, they had made it to the hideout without encountering any problems... surprisingly. They both had devised a plan, and they tried to mumble it to each other in case of spies, but that failed, because Naruto would shout "WHAT?" loudly, and apparently didn't get the whole point of it. It wasn't much of a plan, either. They walked out onto the water side-by-side, and were stopped suddenly by two cloaked figures, which came out of nowhere and landed in front of them.

"Heh, looks like we got some shark bait," one said, looking up.

The other said nothing, but looked up with a handsign in place. A dangerous one, Naruto realized, from a former encounter.

"Wait!" Sakura yelled. The one on the right held the handsign, but stopped doing whatever was intentional from it.

Sakura stepped forward and held the scroll out to the one whom could have killed her already with his Mangekyou, but he stood without moving. She wanted to say that it wasn't a trap, but doing so might give him the wrong idea.

After no one moved for a full minute, "Drop your weapons," was Itachi's response. "All of them."

Naruto and Sakura took off their weapon pouches and handed them over to the blue-skinned Akatsuki member standing next to him. Two clones jumped unexpectedly out of the trees and grabbed their wrists, holding them behind their backs. Naruto almost tried to pull away, but Sakura glared daggers at him. Itachi broke the handsign he had been holding and took the scroll, opening it without emotion. Sakura showed no fear, even when Kisame took the opportunity to enjoy scaring them, grinning and showing them all his sharp teeth. He enjoyed it more when Naruto's lips curled back in anger.

Itachi said nothing. He dropped the scroll into the water.

A look of dismay spread over Sakura's face, while Naruto and Kisame were exchanging faces with each other. But there was something different in Itachi's eyes... there wasn't the usual emotionless hate there was before.

"Kisame," he said, "I'll be gone for a while."

"Wha-?" Kisame and Naruto said at the same time. Naruto gave a smirk of triumph, a "hmph" came from Kisame, and a sense of relief washed over Sakura. Kisame handed Sakura her weapon pouch, and shoved Naruto's into his chest after the clones disappeared.

Although it was Naruto and Sakura's mission, Itachi chose to be stubborn. He ran in front of them and set the pace. Sakura and Naruto kept up though, and although it looked like it was hard to run in such a robe, Itachi maneuvered quickly and nimbly in between the trees and obstacles that were set forth. Naruto knew that the first step of a long journey had begun.

_To be continued…_


	3. Chapter II: A Tearful Farewell

Review count is up to 5. Woo. I'm also trying to catch up on America's Next Top Model Cycle 10. I'm currently on episode 4. But that doesn't really matter. . About that chapter name, I named it 'A Tearful Farewell' because of near the end of the chapter. No, Itachi does NOT start crying. .

Key:

"Quotations: Speaking"

_Italicized: Thinking/emphasized word_

_"Italicized with quotations: Kyuubi speaking/thinking"_

**Chapter II: A Tearful Farewell**

The fire crackled, creating a light glow in a dark clearing where the three slept as an owl hooted softly in the night. Naruto, however, could not sleep.

"Oi," he whispered. "Itachi!"

Itachi was fast asleep. Naruto crawled toward him.

_Are those lines on both sides of his nose real?_ Naruto thought to himself. He reached out to touch one...

"Ow!" he yelled the next moment, finding himself pinned to the ground on his stomach with his face a few inches away from the fire.

"What's going on?" Sakura said, startled and standing up quickly. Itachi stared at Naruto for a moment, then let him go.

"Get some sleep," he said without emotion.

Naruto, who was surprised and scared at the same time, quickly obeyed.

The next morning, the air was cold, and a light fog lay over the land. There was a small breeze covering their scent, and it whispered through the trees without a care. Sakura tried to imitate Itachi's footsteps, considering he wasn't making a sound as he jumped from tree to tree. Naruto, however, just seemed concerned to get to the hideout and find Sasuke. Sakura knew it wouldn't be that easy, though. She also knew they would be at the hideout soon - they had been running for two days. And they were close. Within a few hours they reached a barren land with a few sentinels of stone. Itachi led them to one and began to silently burrow inside.

"Sasuke-kun," a voice hissed in the shadows.

There was silence.

"It looks like Naruto and Sakura have come to rescue you," the voice said. "And they've brought along a friend."

"Who is it, Orochimaru-sama," the other voice said, uncaring.

"It matters not," Orochimaru said. "But we must keep moving... and leave a dead weight behind."

"But what about Ma-"

"No," Orochimaru growled, "I meant Kabuto."

"Hmph."

Naruto once again distracted Sakura.

They had burrowed in, apparently detected, and Itachi seemed to know. They were running down the dark halls, and the closer they got to Sasuke's chakra, it seemed to only get darker.

_You're the only one who can bring him back from the darkness,_ Naruto had remembered what Neji said to him on their first failed rescue attempt.

While it was still light and Sakura could still see Naruto beside her, she took every minute to do so, but only out of the corner of her eye. she still hoped he didn't notice. As it got darker and Itachi ran ahead of them, Sakura took that opportunity to inch her way closer to Naruto as they ran. She felt his warmth comforting. Naruto, however, noticed her moving closer, but decided not to say anything.

_Does he feel the same way I feel about him?_ Sakura thought.

_Does she feel the same way as I feel about her?_ Naruto thought. _Should I tell her how I feel?_

Sakura prayed that he wouldn't say anything. He had the voice of an angel, and if he opened his big mouth, she might forget about everything else and listen to him instead. Luckily, he kept his big mouth shut.

In a split second, Itachi and Naruto stopped, and Sakura almost ran into them. Two figures had appeared in front of them, and they could barely make out their silhouettes. One, the tallest, clapped as the lights came on. It was Orochimaru - standing next to Kabuto. Naruto was almost disappointed to see it was Kabuto instead of Sasuke.

"Where's Sasuke!" he yelled in anger. His glare turned to Orochimaru.

"I'm merely a clone," Orochimaru said with a smug smirk. "Sasuke and I are already far away from here... and someone else."

Naruto, who had been gritting his teeth, stopped when the clone pulled out an orb, a bit bigger than a baseball. The clone tossed it to Naruto and he caught it with quick reflexes. He stared at it for a moment.

"With that," Orochimaru started, "you can bring back two people who are deceased. You only have to think of who you want to bring back and whisper their names."

Naruto automatically stated he wanted his mother and father whom he never had. Nothing happened.

"But only," Orochimaru continued, "if you can beat me."

Naruto narrowed his eyes at Kabuto, whom he could tell was not a clone. He began running at Kabuto but Itachi held a hand in front of him and shook his head lightly. Orochimaru's clone disappeared, and Kabuto smirked.

"One of us has to stay and fight Kabuto," Itachi turned to them. He said it as if to state that he wasn't going to stay. Naruto and Sakura stayed silent, but after awhile, Sakura stepped forward.

"I'll stay."

"B-But Sakura-chan!" Naruto objected.

"Go," she said. A tear rolled down her cheek. As she looked into his eyes, they both seemed to realize they probably wouldn't see each other again. Sakura turned away from him to hide her tears, she felt something wrap around her neck. Not trying to choke her, but almost like a hug. She blushed a little when she looked back and saw Naruto.

"Try not to die," he said softly.

_That makes me feel confident,_ Sakura thought sarcastically, but nodded lightly. She frowned when he let go of her.

"Good-bye," she said. Naruto and Itachi disappeared, and she turned to face Kabuto.

_To be continued..._


	4. Chapter III: The Kyuubi Unleashed

Not much to say this time, I guess. Got a couple more reviews. No chapter tomorrow, however. We have to go down to my grandfather's house. Anyhow... I couldn't respond well to the reviews I got because most anything I can say would give something away. So I guess all I can say is thanks for the reviews! Oh, and the _"Italicized with quotations: Kyuubi speaking" _in the key just may be put into use for the first time in this chapter! But you'll have to read to find out. ;)

WARNING: THIS CHAPTER MAY CONTAIN SOME SERIOUS SPOILERS. IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO KNOW WHERE THE KYUUBI CAME FROM OR WHO THE THIRD SURVIVING PERSON FROM A CERTAIN CLAN THAT BEGINS WITH A 'U', THEN STOP READING NOW.

Shit, that last part might have been a spoiler in itself! shifty eyes Uzumaki... I meant Uzumaki...

Key:

"Quotations: Speaking"

_Italicized: Thinking/emphasized word_

_"Italicized with quotations: Kyuubi speaking/thinking"_

**Chapter III: The Kyuubi Unleashed**

Naruto was speechless.

As he and Itachi fled from the hideout of Orochimaru, he couldn't speak. Sakura had stayed to fight Kabuto, and would he ever see her again? Would they ever be together again? What if they never found her again... but most of all, would she ever know how he really felt? Itachi looked back at Naruto. He wasn't looking back for long, however. Naruto's heart was in his throat, and he was so nervous about finding Sasuke. He began to run faster until he had almost passed Itachi. Itachi said nothing, just quickened his pace. In Naruto's mind he knew that what Orochimaru said was right - they were probably far away by now. But still his ears strained to pick up any abnormal sounds that could be them, or and unnatural sights and movements that could be them. For awhile he saw nothing.

One hand covered with visible chakra swiped at the air, finding it hit nothing. Another hand, covered with a glove, swiped at the ground, finding its target, and sending a split in the rock towards its enemy. Two figures fought in the arena-like room with brute strength and amazing chakra control.

"Shit!" Kabuto said as he jumped back, trying to evade the split in the rock that was heading toward him. He didn't react fast enough, and within moments he disappeared behind mountains of broken ground.

Sakura, on the other hand, who had managed to evade all of Kabuto's attacks except one, jumped and landed on a flat plateau of rock. A gash in her leg was bleeding from Kabuto's attack. She gazed silently at what she had done without chakra, nothing but pure strength. But it was too silent. She waited for an attack from the sides or from above, but nothing happened. There was one place she forgot to watch.

"Gotcha," Kabuto mumbled from beneath the rock as he burst out, landing a chakra-covered punch right under her chin. It sent her flying and she fell, unable to get up for a moment.

While this was going on, Naruto and Itachi had made a good distance between them and the hideout. They had left the desert-like area where the hideout had been under and were back in the forest. Itachi picked up a slight trace of Orochimaru, but there was something else... it almost seemed like an Uchiha scent, but t wasn't just Sasuke. It was someone else.

"This way," he said, somewhat alarmed at the fact of there being another Uchiha near. They turned sharply, and Naruto almost faltered.

But they lost his chakra-scent, and Naruto's hope began to diminish. He had a feeling that he wasn't going to make it in time to save Sasuke.

Sakura felt the same.

Her senses were giving up - her head began to spin, she couldn't see straight, and a gash in her neck cut off her breathing once or twice. She felt her heartbeat begin to slow. Through her blurred vision, she saw Kabuto, bleeding just as heavily, running toward her, about to finish her off. As he approached, she gathered her remaining strength. As soon as he drew too near, she aimed a punch at his forehead...

...and hit dead-on.

She heard his forehead protector snap, and his skull shatter. He fell to the ground.

She walked outside and forced herself to the edge of the forest.

She fell, and inched one hand over the grass.

"Naruto..."

Sakura's body lay lifeless.

So much running had taken its toll on Naruto, and as the sun was about to start its descend in the sky, Itachi was forced to stop. They rested, and Naruto rubbed his aching feet. He was thinking about how much he had dreamed of having parents, and after he defeated Orochimaru, how he just might be able to become normal again, with a family, when a voice behind them said, "Well, well... _Itachi_."

_That's the Uchiha scent I caught,_ Itachi thought as he jumped to his feet and whirled around to meet his challenger. It was much more than he expected.

"Madara!"

Naruto knew that was the first time he, or anybody, had heard Itachi actually sound nervous. Madara threw an open hand toward Naruto, instead of Itachi. Naruto began to feel a strange tugging... as if the chakra inside him was being pulled out of him... almost as if his spirit was.

Then pain overcame him.

He fell to his knees and yelled, every muscle in his body tried to move away but couldn't. As he opened his mouth, he saw red chakra draining out of it and forming into a dull 'thing' in front of him. That 'thing' got bigger and bigger and began to take shape. Soon the pain stopped and Naruto fell to the ground. He looked up - whatever the shape had been now became a solid form, and it was HUGE, far larger than anything he'd ever seen. A giant, orange paw armed with lethal claws landed next to Madara, who, Naruto realized, was now using his Mangekyou Sharingan to control whatever it was. Naruto then realized what it was. He stood up as an ear-splitting roar filled his ears.

Madara had summoned and was controlling the Kyuubi.

It opened its mouth and condensed energy into a small sphere, and released it, sending it straight at Itachi and Naruto. Naruto closed his eyes. There was an explosion, and then everything went silent. Naruto opened his eyes to see what had happened, and saw a dome of chakra protecting them. It disappeared.

"Why are you after Sasuke," Madara asked without emotion, just like Itachi.

"Years ago I made a huge mistake by listening to you," Itachi said, "and killing my family."

Madara had a shocked look on his face, as did Naruto. The Kyuubi fired another blast at them.

"Get out of here!" Itachi yelled to Naruto. "And tell Sasuke..."

He never got the time to finish. He barely blocked the blast, and Naruto ran. He ran onward, away from the demon inside him, and onward toward Sasuke.

Naruto was panting. He had run until early morning. He finally sat down, unable to go any farther. Something began to burn. He realized it was the orb and he quickly took it out of his weapon pouch and held it in front of his face. Orochimaru's face appeared on it.

"Look at that," Orochimaru said, "looks like one's down."

Naruto didn't understand what he meant at first, but Orochimaru's face disappeared and another scene came to life on the glossy surface. It was Sakura - reaching out for her love that she never would see again.

Naruto's eyes widened. He dropped the orb.

"Sakura!" he yelled at the sky. He looked back at the orb, yelling at it. "Sakura, wake up! Get up!"

She didn't move.

Naruto bellowed his rage as the visions in the orb disappeared.

_To be continued..._


	5. Chapter IV: Reunited

Okay, so for one, the borders I'm using aren't working. So ignore them! D:

Second, I got lost in the forest at my grandfather's last night. I wanted to take a picture of the sunset so I hiked up a hill, then followed a couple deer into the trees, then it got dark and I got lost. Go me!

Key:

"Quotations: Speaking"

_Italicized: thinking/emphasized word_

**Chapter IV: Reunited**

Putting one foot in front of the other seemed like much more of an effort than it usually was for Naruto. Drowned by sorrow and rage, his hope was slowly flickering out. But he had to find the one from whom his bonds had been severed - it was the only thing that kept him going. He had picked up only the slightest trace of their chakra-scent, but all seemed futile. The scent had led him out of Konohagakure, and he was now in Iwagakure. All the cliffs made it all the more difficult to search, and in about a day he had lost all hope. There was no more chakra-scent, no nothing. But still he pressed on. He had gotten so far on this journey, and it was because of Sakura and Itachi that he was able to do so. What if Sasuke didn't even want to come back? Naruto thought it over. He would say what Itachi never finished, and perhaps, just maybe, that would change Sasuke's mind. But what was he supposed to do about Orochimaru? He couldn't fight him all by himself. With Sakura and Itachi gone, it seemed like such an impossible feat to tackle - considering he may have to fight Sasuke as well.

Naruto cringed at the thought of fighting his best friend once more. Last time he had been crushed, having to fight the one with whom the bonds he'd always wanted to form had formed within. Only consistent hunger forced him to stop, and he knew that if he didn't eat, he wouldn't have the strength. He walked to a nearby pond and swiped at some fish in the water, only to miss. If he had the energy he would yell at them meaninglessly, but he kept on trying. It wasn't until the sun shifted in the sky and his shadow was moved out of the fish's sight that he was able to scoop one out of the water. It slipped out of his grasp as he tried to catch it. Sooner or later, however, he was cooking a large fish over a fire.

Later he was up and running again. After he ate he began to feel his energy returning, but he hadn't eaten enough to fill himself up. On a full stomach, one became sluggish, and if someone had attacked him he would have little chance of fighting back.

_Wait, what's that! _He thought in alarm as he picked up strong traces of Sasuke. He followed them, turning around boulders and what not, until he saw an entire cliff that had collapsed. But Sasuke was up there, he couldn't be surer. The cliff had to be a half-mile high, and he was hesitant at first. Soon he realized the only way to Sasuke was over this pile of boulders.

**(This is a divider. IGNORE IT! D)**

The sun was beginning to set as Naruto neared the top of the seemingly endless blockade. He sidestepped along a rock on a thin surface and resumed his climb. His hopes once again began to rise, as he couldn't picked up any traces of Orochimaru, only Sasuke.

While his mind was preoccupied, he didn't see a loose part in the boulder. When he stepped on it, it gave away. He cried out a little as his arms scraped against the rocks, but he managed to keep his balance until he reached the top.

When he did reach the top, he couldn't believe what he saw.

Carved intricately into the rock was like a maze, halls leading to rooms of all sorts. He hadn't the time to be fascinated, though, he had to find Sasuke. He jumped down into the maze, and it wasn't long before he picked up Sasuke's chakra. It was slow moving, so he guess Sasuke must be asleep. He crept around the corner to the room where the chakra originated and opened the door slowly. And sure enough, on the bed, there was Sasuke. He was asleep, but it didn't matter. Naruto ran in, shut the door and stood over Sasuke.

"Sasuke!" he said.

"N...Naruto?" Sasuke asked tiredly. Naruto guessed that Sasuke had to make the same tiring journey that he himself had to make.

"Why did you let Orochimaru take you with him!" Naruto asked angrily.

"I was _forced_ to come here!" Sasuke yelled, fully awake. "You dobe, get out before Orochimaru finds you!"

Naruto, shocked to hear some concern in his cold voice, whirled around as he heard the door open.

_To be continued..._

Sorry for the short chapter.


	6. Chapter V: Homicide

I'm writing another chapter tonight, hooray... I guess. My neck hurts. That's about it.

Key:

"Quotations: Speaking"

_Italicized: Thinking/emphasized word_

**Chapter V: Homicide**

"You fool!" the person in the doorway shouted.

Naruto recognized Orochimaru's chakra - but that wasn't Orochimaru. _Or was it?_ He looked over at Sasuke, who showed no emotions on his face, but Naruto knew that Sasuke was just as confused as he was. Then Sasuke began to realize that the two years was up: and Orochimaru had found another body instead of Sasuke's. And he was angry.

Fortunately, Sasuke knew, Orochimaru had a temper, and sometimes didn't think while having one. And now was one of those times. Naruto saw Orochimaru glaring daggers at Sasuke, so naturally Naruto turned to glance back at him. He found that Sasuke looked almost like he was dizzy.

"I have no more use for you," Orochimaru said hastily. He sent two snakes that bit Sasuke's arms and spread them, leaving the vital spot where his heart and lungs and even throat were wide open. Orochimaru walked up to the helpless Sasuke with a Kunai and stood over him, pushing Naruto out of the way. He was about to bring the Kunai across Sasuke's throat when he said, "I think I have a much better way."

He stood back, and Naruto pulled on the snakes, trying to get them to loosen their grip on Sasuke's arms, but it failed. He turned toward Orochimaru and ran at him. Orochimaru, who had been smirking the whole time, opened his mouth as a long, metal blade sliced through Naruto's hand. In the same instant, the snakes on Sasuke's arms bit down harder, until Sasuke let out a cry of pain when they hit the bone. Naruto grit his teeth, not only at the pain of the blade in his hand, but also from the pain of hearing his friend in helpless agony. The blade disappeared.

"What are you waiting for?" Orochimaru asked them with a hint of laughter in his voice, "Entertain me."

Naruto tried to move his feet but felt something holding him back. As he looked down, he saw thread tied to his ankles, which one of the snakes must have done on their way to Sasuke, with visible chakra channeling through it. Something wasn't right... he felt the threads traveling up his arms and around his wrists. They themselves, with some help from the chakra and Orochimaru, began to force Naruto's hand into his weapon pouch. He pulled out a kunai, all of his muscles except for his face becoming involuntary. He started toward Sasuke.

"No!" Naruto shouted.

He heard Orochimaru hiss.

"Stop!" Naruto yelled again, drawing nearer to Sasuke.

He heard the rapid beating of his own heart beating even faster.

"STOP!" he yelled once more. He came to a stop in front of Sasuke.

The threads forced him to raise the Kunai above his head. He stared down at Sasuke. He could see fear and sadness in Sasuke's eyes.

"The trance is wearing off," Orochimaru mumbled to himself.

Naruto knew what he had to say, and knew he had to say it fast.

"Sasuke, Itachi wanted me to tell you," Naruto said, picking off from where Itachi never finished, "he's sorry."

He said it so solemnly that Sasuke believed him. But at the same time, this was Itachi! Itachi Uchiha! He wouldn't be able to say sorry! ...Would he? Sasuke looked at Naruto's hand with the kunai, it was trembling on its own behalf. So were Naruto's eyes. Naruto was staring at Sasuke in horror as he realized what was going to come next. It was worse than Sasuke leaving, or even having to fight him again. The threads began to put pressure on the hand with the kunai, but Naruto struggled to keep it up.

"Feisty, aren't we?" Orochimaru said wryly. His smirk became wider as the pressure stopped all at once.

Then, suddenly, it feeling like a elephant had landed on Naruto's hand, Naruto brought down the kunai - straight into Sasuke's neck.

"SASUKE!"

_To be continued..._

Ooh... suspensful.


	7. Chapter VI: Torture

Omg you guys, thank you so much for the reviews. Chapter five had more reviews than any other chapter and only a couple people have submitted more than one. Thanks for your support, and in your reviews this time (I'm letting to readers decide):

**DO YOU WANT A CLIFFHANGER IN CHAPTER VII (seven) ?**

If so, say something in a review!

**Chapter VI: Torture**

_Naruto brought the kunai above his head, all his muscles become involuntary. The helpless Sasuke's eyes were wide and filled with terror as Orochimaru forced Naruto's hand to grip the kunai forcefully. He brought the kunai down into Sasuke's neck..._

...and split his neck open.

There came no blood, but...

_Is that smoke?_ Naruto thought. _Yes! It is!_

The whole of Sasuke's body exploded into smoke. Naruto knew that such a person couldn't go down so easily. He looked back at Orochimaru, who's smirk had grown yet bigger than before. He knew it wasn't really Sasuke. He knew it was a clone. And most of all, he knew that more than fighting his best friend or watching him refuse to come home, the pain of killing his best friend would be too much for Naruto to bear. Or at least, frighten him so much that he was unable to move for a few moments; which he did, leaving the perfect opening for Orochimaru to swiftly jump in and swipe the handle of a kunai across Naruto and the real Sasuke's, who had been hiding, necks. Naruto was knocked unconscious, but Sasuke lashed back out at Orochimaru. Seeing himself as being betrayed, Orochimaru knocked Sasuke out and picked the two up.

**(This is once again a border, ignore it! D)**

"Sasuke!" A voice said his blue eyes dull, as seen in the dimness of the small, buzzing light that hung over the cemented walls of the cold, damp room. "Sasuke, are you awake?"

"Why don't you shut up already," an annoyed yet cold voice said, punching Naruto, who was chained against a wall, in the stomach so hard that Naruto's chained wrists and ankles flew forward like reflexes, but we restrained by the chains. Naruto threw up.

Sasuke, who had been lying on the floor, saw what was happening and stood up. He ran at Naruto's assailant, but was shocked to see the Uchiha's face. No matter, since the 'trance' had almost worn off, it didn't matter who it was he had to face - he had to protect his friend. The fight didn't last long, however, for when Sasuke tried a jutsu Madara grabbed him and slammed him into the wall, chaining him up next to Naruto. Naruto's feet dangled lightly over his blood-filled vomit. Madara left.

"Are you alright... Sasuke?" Naruto asked, pausing to catch his breath.

Sasuke looked at the wall. There were objects such as a wooden club and a whip hanging up. He paused before he said, "Orochimaru's gone."

No answer came from Naruto.

"This battleground didn't suit him. He's looking for the perfect place, where he can fight you."

Naruto looked over quietly at Sasuke.

"I mean, _us_," Sasuke added.

"Arigato."

**(Ignore teh border!)**

Naruto and Sasuke talked. They talked about old times and memories past, all in the act of trying to take their minds off the hidden dangers that lurked behind the unreachable door. Sasuke also told Naruto about how he knew about a secret of the Uchiha clan - one that noe one else knew. Unforntunately, that's what Madara was after. They both fell silent as Madara entered the room once more. He walked up to Sasuke, grabbing the club as he went.

"Are you going to tell me what you know," he asked.

Sasuke very well knew what he was talking about, and he didn't answer. He prepared for the worst.

The worst never came.

As soon as the club was brought down onto Sasuke's head, he heard Naruto's barely audible yells and taunts.

"Hey!" Naruto yelled, trying desperately to get Madara to come at him instead, "You stupid Uchiha. Your clan sickens me. They're nothing but a bunch of losers, you all should be dead!"

_No Naruto_, Sasuke thought, _Stop!_

"You can't hurt me," he shouted. "You're too weak, all you can do is rely on the Kyuubi's power!"

To Sasuke's shock, Madara dropped the club and went back to the wall of torture devices. Naruto continued his shouts in fear of Madara going back to Sasuke, but he didn't. He walked to Naruto with a whip in his hand, tore Naruto's jacket and shirt off, and drew the whip back.

"YOU CAN'T HURT ME!" Naruto's angry cry rang through the room once more.

_CRACK!_

The whip made a deafening cracking noise as Madara brought it across Naruto's bare chest. Naruto yelled in pain.

"You're weak!" Naruto yelled.

_CRACK!_

The whip came down on him again.

The next ten minutes were hell. Sasuke watched Naruto's body become covered in deep, bloody marks from the whip, and listened to the sickening noise of Naruto's yells of pain and his flesh being pierced. Sasuke couldn't do anything. After Naruto was dizzy, Madara let the whip fall to the floor. He grabbed Naruto's neck and choked him, not by blocking his air flow, but by preventing him from coughing up blood, so he choked on the blood. After a while a little bit of blood began to force its way through Naruto's throat and it dripped down his lip. Madara became bored and left. Naruto began to make a wheezing sound, and Sasuke knew that blood clots had already formed and Naruto might choke and die.

With all his might, Sasuke threw his weight from side to side, pulling on the chains on his wrists. After a few moments his hard work paid off and the chains were loosened. He slipped on hand through one and used it to melt the other three chains. He quickly ran over to Naruto, but instead of getting him down, he punched him straight in the stomach. Naruto let out a muffled cry of pain, and even deep in Sasuke's cold heart he hated to watch his friend suffer like this. The force from the blow made the blood shoot out of his throat, and some got on Sasuke's feet. When he was able to speak again he said,

"S-Sorry, Sasuke!"

"Don't apologize, dobe," Sasuke said with a slight smile. He burned the chains around Naruto's wrists and ankles, and noticed him beginning to shiver. He picked up his shirt and his coat and handed them to Naruto. He put them on.

"Arigato," he said once more.

Naruto spotted an air vent above the chains - their way out. He tore the covering off the wall and threw it over his shoulder, which hit the floor with a loud "_Ching!"_

"Dammit!" Sasuke whispered. He followed Naruto quickly into the air vent. Not long after, Madara returned. He looked at the air vent.

_They left,_ Madara thought. He climbed up onto the edge of the vent and did a few hand signs.

Then he blew a large jet of fire down the vent.

_To be continued..._

Woohoo, long chapter!


	8. Chapter VII: Betrayal

Good news. I _think_ I know how the rest of the story is going to go and how it's going to end. I _might_ also do two chapters tonight, but I highly doubt that. Maybe... just maybe.

Key:

"Quotaions: Speaking"

_Italicized: Thinking/Emphasized word_

**Chapter VII: Betrayal**

_Naruto crawled down the air vent with Sasuke following. Madara soon returned to the cell, only to find that they were gone. He climbed up to the edge of the vent, did a few hand signs, and blew a large jet of fire - straight down the vent toward Naruto and Sasuke._

Sasuke and Naruto were already far away, but had no idea how far the vent could possibly go. Sasuke, who was following Naruto, wished he would go faster, but knew he was injured. He felt a strange heat coming from behind them.

"Naruto, do you feel that?"

"What the hell!" Naruto yelled, already turned around, staring at the flames that were fast approaching them. It didn't take him long, but Naruto said, "Sasuke, quick. Get behind me."

Sasuke slid past Naruto and looked over his shoulder. Naruto's hands began to looks like they were running over an invisble sphere several times, until chakra formed in them. Sasuke realized it was the Rasengan, also realizing that Naruto needed no clone to form such a jutsu anymore. Naruto held the hand with the Rasengan back until the last possible moment, when Sasuke could see the orange, yellow, red and blue flames of the fire, until he could decipher flame from flame. Naruto brought the Rasengan toward the fire jet, and there was a blinding explosion that sent Naruto flying back into Sasuke and the two of them flying down the air vent. They hit the end and broke through the vent, and went down into the ocean water with waves crashing over them.

_Damn_, Naruto thought as he tried to keep his head above the water. He saw Sasuke's head as well, but Naruto lost sight as he got pulled under the water. He took in some water to his lungs, but a wave tossed him weightlessly onto the beach near Sasuke. He almost wished he were back in the water; his hand had been badly burnt and the water felt good on it. He coughed and sat up.

"Are you alright?" he asked Sasuke.

Sasuke said nothing as he stood up, but he was thankful for Naruto's quick-thinking that saved their lives. Naruto got up and caught a strong chakra that belonged to Orochimaru. _He's nearby._

"He's here because I can use fire," Sasuke said darkly.

They walked side-by-side on the beach toward the chakra when Naruto, who had been looking at Sasuke's strange new outfit, turned to him and said, "That shirt of yours... I think Orochimaru like to see you quarter-naked."

"Yes, well with that on you look like a rotten pumpkin," Sasuke said with a small smirk and a hint of laughter under his breath.

"Baka!" Naruto said.

"Dobe."

They turned to look at each other. Naruto smiled and kept walking.

**(INGNORE ME.)**

After a few minutes of walking, the drying salt began to sting in Naruto's wounds. Once in a while his burn would start aching again, and he would pause to put in the water, but didn't do so again after setting his hand on a sea urchin, all to which Sasuke rolled his eyes and kept walking. It wasn't long before they could make out Orochimaru's shape in the horizon ona cliff over the beach, and at the first sight of him they disappeared and reappeared on top of the cliff. Naruto, who didn't stop to think, punched the figure's head, but to his dismay it was a clone, which exploded into smoke.

"Sasuke, look out!"

Sasuke turned around, and a large snake that had come up from the sand formed into Orochimaru's new body form and knocked Sasuke down. He grabbed Sasuke's hair and smothered his face into the sand.

"You're a traitor," Orchimaru hissed in Sasuke's ear, "to Konoha... and I as well."

He turned toward Naruto, who was yelling at him to let Sasuke go. Orochimaru ran his long tongue around his lips with a smirk in order to gross Naruto out, which it did. But it didn't throw his concentration off for long. A clone, which Naruto had ready from before, was coming at Orochimaru from behind. Orochimaru turned around and finished the clone off quickly with just a punch. In the meantime, Naruto ran at Orochimaru, but was stopped when one of his snakes came from under Orochimaru's sleeves and wrapped around his neck, tossing him aside.

**(IGNORE ME, INFEDELS!)**

_You're the only one who can save him from the darkness,_ Neji remembered himself saying as he ran through the trees. "Shikamaru, you doing alright back there?"

"Hai," a tired voice answered from behind. "What about you, Sai?"

"Hm."

The three had been assigned a rescue mission for a rescue mission, in other words, to rescue Naruto and Sakura, who were supposed to have returned by now. They had left Konoha two days ago, and had already picked up a fresh chakra-scent. They were gaining on them.

**(Blaaaaaack socks, they never get dirty, the more that you wear them the blacker they get!)**

"Do you understand," Sasuke whispered to Naruto. They were hiding behind a simple rock, but it would have to do. They were badly injured from the fight, but so was Orochimaru. Sasuke handed Naruto a pair of black gloves, made of strange material, and set them on fire. "Just focus chakra through your hands and it won't go out."

Naruto nodded. They ran out together and faced Orochimaru. They set one foot forward in unison. Naruto sent a large burst of chakra from the fire-coated gloves toward Orochimaru, creating a fireball, the same time Sasuke did. They both hit Orochimaru critically, but that didn't slow him down. Orochimaru aimed what was to be a fatal blow at Naruto's chest with the blade that came from his hand, but never made where he aimed. Sasuke jumped in front of Naruto to protect him, kicking the blade from the side to knock it out of the way. Instead, the blade went straight through his leg - and straight through the bone. Sasuke yelled in pain and fell to the ground.

"Sasuke!"

Orochimaru turned, grabbed them both with his own hand, picked them up, and walked to the edge of the cliff. He held them over the edge. Naruto looked back just in time to see Neji running toward Orochimaru, but never got to see what happened next. Orochimaru hurled them straight down toward the sand below.

"Die!" he yelled.

Naruto never knew that he yelled.

He never knew that death could be so frightening when the Kyuubi wasn't inside him.

He landed on the sand below with a sickening thud, hearing bones shatter before his mind went blank.

_To be continued..._

Well, I had to make up something for that divider, hm?


End file.
